TV3 - Program launch (Sandhamnstek)

The brief: TV show launches are typically based on trailers in the channel where the program will be broadcast and outdoor ads, but prior to the launch of the reality show ”Sandhamn”, TV3 wanted to try something new. The objective was to create interest in the first episode in a way that was both cheaper, more accurate and led to a greater engagement. Can we get Sandhamn to become a hot conversation topic?

Target audience: The target audience for the program was everyone between the ages of 15 and 49, but primarily the younger ones. Communicatively, we aimed primarily at the world of Stureplan* because the program was about the intersection between Stureplan and the archipelago idyll. By creating enough interest within this exclusive world, we could gain momentum and reach much broader.*Stureplan is an area in central Stockholm and a well-known symbol for exclusivity. It is considered a playground for upper-class youth, celebrities, young business executives, etc.

A number of insights led us through the work: - People in the Stureplan’s elite do not like anyone pretending or claiming to be a part of that group.- Stureplan’s profiles do not want to mix with "unreasonable" people.- Most people are fascinated by and love to hate the world of Stureplan.- People in the country are frequent visitors of communities such as Stureplan.se and Finest.

The idea: The conceptual idea was a fictional event company called Sandhamnstek where two completely unknown guys pretended to be stekare (a typical stekare is a brat, usually a twenty-something Stockholmer whose main purpose in life is to show off his/her wealth, or more commonly, the wealth of his/her parents. They would give Swedes the opportunity to experience the glamorous life of Sandhamn.

After a casting process, we found two "initiators" behind the fictional company: Fredrik Nilsson and Mikael Hamrin - two very ordinary guys dressed up as stekare. Through these characters, we could find the balance between the absurd/fictional and the credible. But above all, we wanted to create an entertaining phenomenon with high conversational value, and with a humorous understatement.

The results: The fact that two previously unknown guys suddenly claimed that they belonged to the Stureplan’s elite upset people. The effects were rapid. Already after 12 hours, the big blogs started writing about Sandhamnstek. They were bothered by the business idea itself and made fun of the style of clothing, language, movies and website. And they questioned how the two guys could pretend to be Stureplan’s profiles when nobody knew them.

In just a few days, the blog became one of the most visited in Sweden. The website views also increased rapidly – in 10 days, we got over 30,000 visits, and booking requests began to come in (despite the provocative nature of the company, we got 43 booking requests).

After we revealed that the company was a bluff, the news about the TV show spread like wildfire. Mikael and Fredrik were hailed as heroes, even by those who earlier hated them. The television program Agenda lifted "Sandhamnstek" as an example of the new era of marketing.

But most of all: the first episode was seen by 325,000 viewers. The objective was to beat the average 247,000 viewers. We hit the target with 78,000! The total production cost for the entire campaign was only 185,000 SEK and media costs were only a fraction compared to regular campaigns. We managed to override the target in the number of viewers for a significantly lower cost than previous launches.